NASCAR should be fuming over embarrassing 'Dega race, drivers are livid & controversial finish raises doubt

Monday Morning Pit-Stop is a weekly NASCAR column that runs on OutKick.com and Fox News Digital. If you're looking for a normal NASCAR recap, go check out insufferable ESPN ... assuming they still know NASCAR exists.

I'm not even sure a great finish like that is gonna save NASCAR this week ...

Lordy. What a day at Talladega. It had everything. It usually does.

Cars flipping. Cars going airborne. One of the hardest hits I've ever seen. Kyle Larson going from 11th to first in about 10 seconds to win at the buzzer.

NASCAR'S JOEY LOGANO RIDES ON HIS ROOF, RILEY HERBST NAILS WALL AT FULL SPEED IN DANGEROUS TALLADEGA WRECK

Did he go below the 'yella line? Maybe. Maybe not. A tale as old as time at Talladega.

In between all that mayhem, we had — arguably — the most embarrassing sequence in NASCAR history. It was certainly the most embarrassing at a superspeedway. Drivers were so annoyed by it, they were openly mocking it over the radio ... as it happened!

As they participated!

It was pathetic. This Next Gen car is so pathetic, and so broken, and so far from what this series used to be, I don't even know where to go from here. Neither does Denny Hamlin.

There's "fuel-saving," and then there's whatever the heck THAT was in Stage I yesterday. You'll see.

Four tires, enough fuel to get through the final two races and crown Kyle Larson the champion (it's a wrap, folks), and maybe a Tylenol for Riley Herbst and Joey Logano ... Monday Morning Pit-Stop — the 'Gee, I Wonder Why Ratings Are In The Toilet?' edition — is LIVE!

NASCAR has a mileage problem

Look, we got a great finish yesterday as you can see — and we desperately needed one after the dud that's been the playoffs. There's been no drama over the past eight weeks, beyond Carson Hocevar stuffing Ryan Blaney in a locker. That's it.

And we finally got some yesterday in the closing laps at Talladega. That's what I WANT to to start class with, but I can't.

Can't do it.

Not when crap like this is going in the opening stage:

For those who can't tell what's going on, the entire pack — minus the RFK boys (MAHA!) — decided to save fuel during the opening stage so they wouldn't have to pit because this current car, combined with the stage lengths, make it almost impossible to run the race without running out of gas.

CHASE ELLIOTT SAYS NASCAR'S GRUELING 10-MONTH SEASON CAN 'EAT YOU UP' WITHOUT AN ESCAPE

As Denny Hamlin said after the race, "it’s a sports car not meant to be running 200mph."

Correct. That's what NASCAR has created with this car + stage combo at superspeedways. Basically, if you don't run slow, stay in the draft, and save as much fuel as possible, you're gonna pay for it when it comes to pit stops.

Drivers hate it, but they don't have much a choice. They were MISERABLE yesterday.

Just listen to what Denny said during the race!

If NASCAR doesn't fix this, it's over

"This is some crazy s–t," he said. "This is like the Richard Petty Driving Experience at a race!"

I've done the Richard Petty experience, and Denny is 10000% right. When you do that, they basically cap the cars at 175 MPH. That's what we had yesterday at 'Dega. Cars going as slow as possible to save enough fuel so they wouldn't have to pit.

That should not happen at Talladega or Daytona. Those two are, easily, your best tracks, NASCAR. Trust me. You don't want to screw them up ...

And you are screwing them up. Big time. It's pathetic. It's embarrassing. Folks will turn the channel.

Hell, they already have!

Take a look:

Flips, hits & maybe dips (below the yellow line)?

Lordy.

Last Sunday's Cup race at Phoenix drew an audience of just 1.2 million viewers. That number is alarming, folks. I've seen a lot of bad TV numbers for NASCAR over the years. Believe me.

That's really, really, really bad. You don't want to live in a world where the WNBA outdraws NASCAR, and we're teetering on that right now. It's unfathomable. It's unacceptable.

It's also not surprising.

Some thoughts on why, in order of importance:

1. The TV deal stinks. It brought in a lot of money, but it's really poor for exposure. Do you know how many races have been on network TV this season? Eight, including yesterday at Talladega. Eight! Six on FOX, two on NBC. Before yesterday's race on NBC, there had been one race on network TV since the spring (Daytona in August). That's awful.
2. The schedule stinks. I don't mean the tracks themselves, I mean the time of year. NASCAR is putting its 10-race "Chase" right up against college football and the NFL. That's like taking a knife to a gun fight. No sport is going to win that fight, much less NASCAR. Chase Elliott said it years ago, and it's still true today: The season needs to end around Labor Day weekend. There's no upside in going up against the NFL.
3. The Next Gen car has been a bigger turnoff than a Kamala Harris cackle. You saw it on full display yesterday. Fans despise it. Drivers despise it. You can't pass. You can't push the car. It's very clearly piss-poor at saving fuel. God forbid you try to run in "dirty air." Folks aren't stupid. They've seen what it's done to these races, and they've lost interest.
4. I'd also argue that the series no longer has any star power (Jeff Gordon, Dale Jr. and Tony Stewart have all left in the past decade), and there's also just a general lack of drama in these "playoffs." There's no more elimination race, which the hardcore fans wanted, but the casual fans probably miss. That's just the truth.

OK, give me YOUR thoughts on this — and don't hold back! Zach.Dean@OutKick.com. Gulp.

Now, let's get to a couple quick-hitters on the way out. First up? Congrats to Kyle Larson! He won yesterday in thrilling fashion, and will most likely be your champion here in two weeks.

But ... did he do it legally?

Thoughts? It's really close. Like, really, really, reaaaaaaallllly close.

I think NASCAR made the right call, and I HATE siding with NASCAR. But fair is fair, and I do think Larson's tires stay on the line, albeit barely.

Again, it was CLOSE:

Does that angle change anyone's minds? Nope?! We're all just gonna be stubborn and set in our ways and argue till we're blue in the face?

Okeedokee! Sounds good!

Moving on ...

I know Joey Logano flipping and landing on his hood gets all the clicks and the attention, but the hit Riley Herbst takes here is the most violent hit of the 2026 NASCAR season.

Goodness:

Just a massive hit for Riley Herbst, who is OK. I know NASCAR seemingly took forever to get over to him (listen to how frustrated the team is over the radio), but he spoke after the race and all seems well.

But that was a massive hit. Ryan Blaney's taken a couple of those over the years, and they scare the bejesus out of me every time. When I saw this wreck happen in real time, my attention immediately went to Herbst over Logano.

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Cars that flip and go on their hoods are generally OK. Cars that go into the wall at 190 MPH are usually not.

Feel like we dodged a bullet here.

OK, that's it for today. Good work, everyone.

On the way out, here's Jesse Love's girlfriend, Georgia Kryssing, enjoying a pumpkin patch as we start the final week of October.

See y'all at Martinsville.